Many fishing boats have tower structures raising high above the boat deck to improve visibility into the water during the task of finding fish. Often, these towers raise 20 to 30 feet above the boat deck. When in use, these towers improve the distance vision and water depth vision of the operator.
When the boat is being trailered, these towers often cause problems due to their height. The height of the tower, boat and trailer often reach 20 to 40 feet, making it difficult or impossible to travel beneath power lines, bridges, etc.
To combat this problem, some boat manufacturers such as Gause Built Boats (www.gausebuiltboats.com) have made it so the top section of the tower folds, reducing the height of the boat on a trailer by six to 10 feet. Unfortunately, moving the top section of the tower into the folded position is awkward and often requires two strong people to make sure it doesn't drop suddenly. Likewise, restoring the top section of the tower to its operating position is even harder due to the weight of the top section of the tower. This task often requires at least two strong people to perform. Folding boat towers are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,413 to Jackson, et al., describes an apparatus for folding a boat tower.
What is needed is an apparatus that will reduce the work required to fold the tower as well as assist in restoring the tower to its upright position.